I read a lot of tech journalism. Not because I consume a lot of technology, but because I create it–this is my world, and I feel obliged to know what’s going on. But most tech writing is pretty bad.
So I was not very surprised that, since the announcement of the Apple Watch, everyone started writing about it as if the smartwatch itself was a new technology that will disrupt everything. Apple could release a new doorstop tomorrow and, though I’m sure it would be very nice and packaged in an attractive box, it would be hailed as a revolutionary change in the history of propping doors.
What I did not expect is a flurry of stories written as if the high-end wristwatch itself has just been invented. What are the relative merits of this band or that? How do they get it to be so shiny? Look how difficult it is to manufacture a complicated thing in such a small package– I saw it myself in this flawlessly-illuminated industrial film!
Sorry, but these problems were solved elegantly 100 years ago with gears, creativity, imagination, and magnification. And for the record I’m no longer impressed by the formula of, “It’s like X , but with a computer inside.”